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West Virginia University Survey Research Center

FAQ

Have you been asked to participate in the West Virginia Social Survey? The following questions may be helpful to you.

I have been contacted to participate in this survey, what can I expect?

Following your initial contact letter, you can expect to receive the survey, a two-dollar compensation for your time, and a postage-paid return envelope. Following the survey, you can expect a reminder postcard encouraging you to complete and send in your survey. You can also expect to receive a second survey mailing and a postage-paid return envelope if you did not complete and return the first survey mailing. If you completed and returned the first survey mailing and still receive a second survey mailing, feel free to dispose of the second survey. 

Why are you doing this survey?

It is common to hear news stories reporting statistics about the opinions, concerns, or experiences of Americans. These statistics typically come from a survey of about 1,000 individuals selected randomly from across the United States.  In a sample like this, there will only be a couple West Virginians. This means that these data are often useless for telling researchers and policy-makers anything specifically about West Virginia or the people who live in West Virginia. The goal of the 2021 West Virginia Social Survey is to provide information about the opinions, concerns, and experiences of residents of our state.

Why has my household been contacted to participate in this survey?

Ninety households from each county of the 55 counties in West Virginia were selected at random to receive the survey from a database of residential addresses in the state. 

Why is my participation important?

Your participation is important because it contributes to our knowledge of West Virginia Residents. Our knowledge of the problems faced by West Virginia residents can help us work toward potential solutions. 

Who is conducting this survey?

The 2021 West Virginia Social Survey is sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University. The survey is being conducted by the Survey Research Center at West Virginia University.  

Who can I contact if I have questions, recommendations or issues?

Feel free to email us at survey@mail.wvu.edu or call our office at 304-293-8163

How can I complete this survey?

You must be 18 years of age or older to complete this survey. If there is only one adult age 18 or older in the household then please have that person complete the survey. If there are multiple adults in the household, then please have the adult who had the most recent birthday complete this survey. If needed, someone may assist this person in marking their responses if they are unable to do so themselves. You can mark your responses with an X using a blue or black pen. Once you have completed the survey, you can return it with the postage-paid envelope that was included with the survey. 

Are you going to tell people what I specifically said on the survey?

No. Your responses to the survey are confidential. Your household address will not be connected to the survey responses. We will only report overall statistics and never report what a particular household reported.

Who should take the survey?

Please have the adult (18 years or older) who had the most recent birthday complete the survey. If there is only one adult in the household, then that person should complete the survey.

Why the adult with the most recent birthday?

Just like we randomly select households, randomly selecting individuals within a household helps ensure that the survey represents all West Virginians.

What are you going to do with the responses you collect?

Our primary goal is to make sure that the opinions, concerns, and experiences of West Virginians are heard through this survey. To do this, we will publicize key findings from the survey using social and traditional media as well as writing summary reports that we will make available on this website and distribute to leaders in the state. We will also use the survey for academic research publications.

I completed and returned my survey after the first mailing and received a second survey mailing, what should I do?

If you completed and returned your survey after the first mailing and still received a second survey mailing, we did not receive your survey until after the second survey mailing had already begun. Feel free to dispose of the second survey mailing or contact us at survey@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-8163 with any questions or concerns.